• In 2013,
Benedict XVI became the first pope in 600 years to resign, ending an eight-year
pontificate shaped by struggles to move the Catholic church past sex abuse
scandals and to reawaken Christianity in an indifferent world. (Benedict was
succeeded the following month by Pope Francis.)

The moon sets 5:25 p.m. today, rises 6:27
a.m. Saturday. It is seven days after the last quarter.

100 years ago today

1914: Grand old flag: "The old flag as
she is today is good enough for Lafayette Post No. 217, G.A.R. (Grand Army of
the Republic) of Easton. The
members, 180 of them, said so last night at their meeting, and they said so
with such a will that there is not the slightest doubt of their meaning. For
some time there has been an effort on foot to change the national banner, one
scheme being to add the bars of the South. A flag of that sort wasn't the kind
the veterans fought for, and the old one is quite good enough. The only change
that the Grand Army men would not object to would be the adding of a star now
and then whenever a new state is added to the Union."

50 years ago today

1964: Save the suds: "A railroad
refrigerator car loaded with 1,100 cases of beer was damaged by fire last night
at the Lehigh Valley Railroad station in Bethlehem.
The blaze was discovered about 9 p.m. Firemen from the Victory and Central Fire stations in Bethlehem doused the flames and spent about two hours unloading the
beer and storing it in a nearby shed. About three-fourths of the cargo was
saved. Firemen said they believed a charcoal heater used to keep the beer warm
set fire to the wooden boxcar."

25 years ago today

1989: Barbie-mania: "Eleven-year-old
Theresa Witkowski, of Bushkill Township,
owns 19 Barbie dolls. She also has cars for them to drive, a pool for them to
swim in, and furniture, including a vanity set, a couch and a bed, for them to
set up house with. Mattel Inc. would not be surprised by Theresa's love for
their 11½-inch, busty, small-waisted, long-legged plastic fashion doll.
Barbie, who turned 30 this month, has proved to be one of the most consistently
popular toys in an industry known for fads. Mattel has sold 500 million dolls
in the Barbie line —
enough to circle the globe 3½ times." Said Theresa, a sixth-grader at Bushkill
Township Elementary School,
"They're the first thing on my gift list."